Ever True: A Union Private and His Wife: Civil War Letters of Private Charles McDowell New York Ninth Heavy Artillery

xvi, 186 pp. "The transcribed letters of Charles McDowell and his wife, Nancy, display remarkable devotion, and offer readers a unique perspective of the Civil War. These letters contain little known details about: hangings, prostitution, amputations, desertions, theft and murder among Union troops. Charles also describes personal contacts with Lincoln and Seward (of "Seward's Alaskan Folly"); battles of Cold Harbor, Jerusalem Plank Road, Monocacy, Opequon, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek; the Siege of Petersburg; Mosby's Men; and the Shenandoah Valley and Appomattox Campaign. The Ninth Heavy Artillery was a part of the Sixth Corps. This story is cohesive and informative yet charming and romantic in a very personal way. Vintage photographs enhance the text."